Frozen Assets
The Major Crimes division faces a new challenge as they work to solve the murder of a dog that was left a 20 million dollar estate by his deceased owner. With the help of wannabe detective Jonathan Baird, aka Dick Tracy (guest star Andrew Daly), the case takes a new turn as the squad begins to suspect foul play in the death of the dog’s owner, a wealthy heiress. The Victim The Suspects Evidence Closing the Case The squad realizes that the one thing that was always constant in Marlene's wills was that she left the house to her dog. Her great-niece and nephew both stated that they could easily sell the house despite the market value having gone down severely and they realize that possession of the house is likely the real motive for killing Marlene and Falcon. Provenza and Flynn note that the one thing that is the same at all the houses in the neighborhood is that they have security gates and the one at Marlene's house closed behind them. However, when the neighbors came back from their search for the dog, they met them at the front door, not the gate, meaning that one of them has the code. While Flynn and Provenza were on the other side of the property, Rusty was in their car near the gate and could've seen who opened it. Reluctant to get involved in another murder investigation, Rusty tells them that while he doesn't know who opened the gate, he thinks the oldest neighbor, Mr. Kliener, was the one who came through first and is thus likely the one who opened it. Sharon decides to set up a sting operation by pretending to be Marlene's niece looking to sell the house and has Dick Tracy, who Kliener won't suspect, bring him in. Dick pretends to need to tie his shoes and asks Kliener to get the gate. Kliener does, proving he has the code. Kliener proves eager to buy the house and Andy calls Sharon who pretends it was someone calling to tell her that the LAPD will soon be coming to check for poison. After Sharon goes elsewhere in the house, Kliener quickly begins emptying the fridge of the poisoned food causing Andy to comment he shouldn't have waited a month to remove the evidence of his crime. As they prepare to arrest him, Kliener is confronted by Tracy who accuses him of murdering Marlene and Falcon to get at the house as he has the security code and the opportunity to have taken the venison Tracy usually fed the dog so he'd feed it the poisoned food instead. Kliener empties his bag of the crab cakes and pulls a kitchen knife to murder Tracy and chases him out of the house where the squad arrests him for Marlene's murder. Enraged, Kliener tells Tracy he should've murdered him instead of Marlene. Buzz catches it on camera and Sharon declares it a spontaneous admission of his crime and thus evidence against him. Kliener takes a deal of twenty-five years in prison which he is offered as otherwise, Dick Tracy will be the star witness in his murder trial and Tracy's mental state could hamper the prosecution. Taylor also announces that the department's lawyers determined that Eternal Meadows' suit against them for taking Marlene's head is without merit so her donations to the LAPD after death remain intact. Guest Cast * Andy Daly returns as Jonathan Baird, aka would-be detective Richard "Dick" Tracy. He previously appeared on The Closer in Tapped Out. * Carole Cook as Marlene Brewster, the eccentric elderly woman who is murdered. Her head is removed and frozen by a shady cryogenics lab which also has control of her estate while her two remaining relatives fight over it. Recurring Locations Episode Notes * This is the season's traditional Flynn and Provenza episode. It is also unique as it is the first episode with a returning character. * This episode contains references to a series of movies, including Brewster's Millions, Arsenic and Old Lace, You Can't Take it With You, and The Maltese Falcon. The last becomes a running joke, playing on the dog's name. * On of the key features of The Maltese Falcon is the use of a McGuffin, a device that seems to be important, but actually leads to the real focus of the story. In this case, Falcon's death is the McGuffin leading to the real crime: the murder of Marcella Brewster. * The house's address, 1050 S. Mapleton, is a fictional address in the Holmby Hills, not far from the Playboy Mansion. * The exterior decoration of Marcella Brewster's house may have been inspired by a real house in Beverly Hills. In the 1970s, a mansion on Sunset Blvd. at Alpine was notorious for its extreme decor, notably its anatomically correct painted statues along the exterior walls. The house was eventually caught up in a messy divorce, sold, and redecorated. * References are made to Rusty's part in the Phillip Stroh murder trial and the hunt for Wade Weller last season. * To Rusty's reluctance, he once again becomes part of a murder investigation, exactly what he was trying not to do when he stayed in Flynn and Provenza's car. This is one of a few times where he inadvertently becomes or nearly becomes part of an investigation: he met the squad due to his role in the Phillip Stroh situation, in "Risk Assessment" he aided the Tao in brining in a dog who was a witness to help catch the killer but was quickly taken out of the room by Buzz before the killer confessed so he wouldn't have to potentially testify again and in season 4, his story into Slider leads to him being called as a character witness at his sentencing hearing. Judge Grove makes note of this at one point, asking him how many murder trials does he want to become a part of. References to Tapped Out The episode includes a number of references to Jonathan Baird's previous appearance on The Closer. They include: * eagerness to be part of the LAPD * report * pointer and dramatic presentation of the facts * impersonation of Pope * long statement Trivia *When listening to the victim's wills, Sharon is shown to be highly amused and barely containing it. *Dick Tracy's "crime scene" tape can clearly be seen to actually read Caution Wet Floor. *When Dick Tracy asks why he'd murder Marcella and Falcon, he taps Falcon's picture when he says Marcella's name and Marcella's when he says Falcon's. Episode Media Category:Flynn and Provenza Category:MC Season 3 Category:Major Crimes Category:Episodes